6-foot dolphin stranded for 14 hours, released into the sea

In yet another big mammal spotting, forest officials along with local fisherman on July 1, 2015, freed another 6-foot Indo-pacific humpback dolphin that remained struck in the waters of Amba River, close to Nagothane village.

Raigad off late has been a place for interest for both locals and marine experts with big mammals being spotted around the area.

Last week, a 42-feet blue whale was washed ashore close to the Revdanda beach but died as efforts to push the animal back to the sea failed.

The newly spotted dolphin was struck at a distance of 46 km away between two rocky growths from the mouth of the estuary when it was spotted by residents at around 9.30 am. The locals then informed the forest officials.

The Indo-pacific humpback dolphin had washed with high tide and got stuck in the rocky areas after the high tide receded. Experts believed that the dolphin might have lost its pod while hunting.

A report on Hindustan Times quoted a researcher of Konkan Cetacean Research Team, who said that nets were used around the area where the dolphin was struck so that it rushes back to the sea.

More than 30 fishermen and 40 forest officials worked all through the midnight to send the dolphin back, but the mammal didn’t budge as it was scared. The dolphin finally made its way later into the sea, after the noise around the area reduced.

Since it was a full moon night, it helped the cause as a high tide set in, following which the dolphin wasn’t seen again. The dolphin successfully united with its pod.